I live in a 1977 Remodeling Nightmare. Back when the previous owner lived in this Pike County house, he spent a few bucks on "updating" and "redecorating." Frankly, I wish he would have left it the way it was. Built in 1950, I'm sure my cute Cape Cod home had some really cool elements that were obliterated with the "groovy" 1970s. (well, the purple and black tile in the bathroom remains, and it's not that cool...but I digress)
I honestly do not understand how anyone - anyone - could think that orange shag carpet in a bedroom looked nice. Couple that with the avacado (mixed with gold and orange) shag carpet in the dining room, and the living room, and the steps...ech!! I took great pleasure in ripping down the wallpaper that had green, gold, and brown stagecoaches all over it. Who made up this stuff? Are they sitting in jail somewhere? They should be!
To me though, the worst decor faux pas of the 70s was (and still is) cheap paneling. I am not talking about rich tongue and groove paneling, or nice wide plank knotty pine paneling...come on, you know what I mean. That junk that you pick up in 4 x 8 sheets at the lumber yard.
The previous owner of my house fell in love with this stuff; so much that he paneled not only the walls upstairs, but the ceiling too! YES! It's a marvel to behold. This past winter, my husband tore down all the paneling in our living room. Now, our living room wall covering is the brown paper that covers the insulation. And I like it better.
Such was the previous owner's passion for paneling, that he had custom birch cabinets made for the kitchen...and he had the doors made to look like paneling!!! These are solid birch cabinets...expensive...well built...made to look like the cheap crap hanging on my walls and upstairs ceiling. WHY?
There are so many cute homes on the market around Lake Wallenpaupack that were built in the 70's. Chalets, capes, contemporaries, ranches...many are priced right...but I've run into more than one person who cringes when they discover the interior is mostly, you guessed it, that cheap paneling. It is hard enough seeing it in real life; often it looks much worse in photographs.
Some people advocate painting the paneling. My feelings are mixed on that; you still see the lines. I guess some folks won't mind, but it would bug the heck out of me. I like smooth walls!
Anyway, my opinion: if the house is priced right, particularly if it's thousands of dollars below your "top price", and the only thing holding you back is the paneling...why not consider hiring a contractor to replace the paneling with drywall? It's not horribly expensive, and really transforms a place from a dark cave into a warm and cozy Pocono Mountains retreat.
Furthermore, if you are selling, it might behoove you to consider replacing the paneling in at least the living room, kitchen, and master bedroom to increase your home's appeal. Most people are looking for light and bright spaces...cheap paneling darkens a room and makes it look smaller. Maximize your home's appeal - even a paint job may do the trick.
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Karen E. Rice is a real estate agent working in Pike & Wayne County of Northeastern PA in the Poconos. Lake Wallenpaupack is one of Pennsylvania's most popular destinations for vacations, retirement, and purchasing a home.
Cheap Paneling ©Copyright 2007 by Karen E. Rice. All rights reserved.
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Bravo, I love this post! Somebody finally said something about the cheap paneling that seems to be everywhere. Even the title made me crack up. Since my father-in-law is a drywaller who hates even painting his creations anything but white, I have a unique perspective on panelled rooms. My wife & I did try painting one panelled room yellow, and it looked OK. But...cheap panelling. This is one of those posts where I wish AR had emoticons.
Panelling accepts paint wonderfully!! It can even be a gain.
I cringe when I see that! I remember growing up with a room that had it, and I really hated it then. Buyers say.... "I wonder what's under it? Is it sheet-rocked? Probably not huh?" It is really such an improvement to tear it down, and replace it. And, you will usually re-coup the cost and then some on the sale of the home.
Jeff, my husband hates the idea of painting paneling, but I do think that in some cases it looks better!
You never know what is underneath the paneling either. In our case, nothing. LOL!
What's worse than the cheap paneling from the 70s is the even cheaper, ultra ugly, photofinish paneling, which is nothing put paper pasted onto cheap board...paper made to look like paneling. Complete with fake grooves! My parents bought a manufactured home in 1986 and I actually missed our '78 trailer - because that had REAL paneling.
So, there are worse things in life than cheap 70s paneling...cheap 1980s paneling! ha ha!
Paper paneling! I love it. My parents remodeled almost their whole 1970's house but my mother refused to touch the paneling. There we are going to list it and I have this great description:
"Home updated throughout. New kitchen cabinets and counters with plenty of pantry space. Appliances less then 3 years old. New ceramic tile in kitchen, foyer, hallway and bathrooms. New French doors in kitchen and Master bedroom open to completely fabulous renovated pool with new mesh cover and decking. Incredible corner brick fireplace."
I made no mention of the original 1970's paneling. All I can say is I am glad the market was the way it was and we had a bidding war. Today she WOULD be ripping that stuff out just to get it sold.
Karen,
The worst thing about this paneling is it makes rooms so dark looking. It makes basements look smaller and more cave like. My mother-in-law repainted paneling in her parent's house before selling it and it made a world of difference in the basement.
Rita
Karen, when I first moved to Michigan in the 80's our family room had the old painting. I had it painted it looked great, the lines gave it character. No one wanted me to do it, but I did and then they all loved it. It brightened up that family room, where we lived most of the time.
Purple and black tile??? It's amazing how things that are in style one moment quickly fall out of favour (not a spelling mistake, we spell it with a "u" in Canada) the next. When you bought your house, you did what many others buyers do and that is see beyond the current state. Thanks for the post
Karen-
I was luaghing when I got to the part about paneling the celing. You have got to be kidding. Good point though. I had a friend once that redid all her paneled walls of their mobile home with some type of drywall they found at Home Depot. It wasn't the same as pulling it off, putting up sheet rock and such but it did make a dramatic difference. Great post : )
I have painted the paneling and it looks okay but you are right you can see the lines. I've seen it done in a lot of the homes around here also and it does at least look better than the paneling. Now paneling on the ceiling I have never seen.